Today is National Dream Day.
Pretty much all of us dream, and while our dreams can have a lot in common with people in other parts of the world, there can be some big differences between those dreams too.
I got curious about these questions after seeing that Brilliant Maps had published a map of The Most Common Dreams By Country.
It’s based on the most popular Google searches about dreams, so it may skew toward our most visceral dreams, or the ones that concern us the most, or the ones we have the most trouble understanding.
Nonetheless, it’s an interesting map: in Western countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Norway and Sweden, the most commonly searched dream was about a person’s teeth falling out.
It’s an anxiety dream that a lot of observers say relates to our concerns about our appearance.
The top-searched dream in dozens of countries was snakes, which are often seen as dreams about a person’s fears or worries.
Some countries had very specific and off-the-beaten-path dreams.
Like in Bhutan, where the most commonly searched dreams were about rainbows, or Armenia, where people dream about grapes (!)
What’s interesting about the map is that the big themes seem to cut across cultures.
People all over the world dream about falling, or being chased, or their exes.
But that doesn’t mean we all have the same dreams about those common concepts.
There was a study in 2023 out of the University of Toronto – Mississauga that tracked dreams from people in different parts of the world.
All of the participants seemed to have dreams about facing threats or challenges.
But the dreams of participants from the US and other Western countries were more focused on the stress those threats and challenges brought out in the dreamers.
Meanwhile, people from foraging communities in Africa reported that their dreams about threats ended with a friend or neighbor helping them to safety.
Which sounds like a recipe for a pretty good night’s sleep.
Another fascinating fact about dreams: a certain percentage of people dream in black and white, like in old movies.
This may be more common in people who grew up watching black and white TV.
Or maybe in people who watch a lot of film noir?
The Most Common Dreams By Country (Brilliant Maps)
Dreams can vary across cultures and environments, UTM anthropologist finds (University of Toronto – Mississauga)
45 Mind-Boggling Facts About Dreams (Healthline)
Our dream is for you to back this show on Patreon
Photo by peterned via Flickr/Creative Commons
